External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who addressed the Mahila Sammelan event in Varanasi on Wednesday, tweeted the key takeaways of the speech later and the participation of women in the current government figured prominently in it.

The minister tweeted, “I told the audience that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is the first government after Independence to have six women Cabinet Ministers with two of them as members of the Cabinet Committee on Security. Jawahar Lal Nehru’s first Cabinet (1952-57) had only one woman – Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur as a Cabinet Minister.

I addressed the Mahila Sammelan in Varanasi today. I told the audience that Prime Minister @narendramodi ‘s government is the first government after independence to have six women Cabinet Ministers with two of them as members of the Cabinet Committee on Security. /1— Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 15, 2019

“His second government (1957-62) had no woman Cabinet Minister. His third Government (1962-64) had one woman (Dr Sushila Nayyar) as a Cabinet Minister.”

“Lal Bahadur Shastri continued with Dr Sushila Nayyar as a Cabinet Minister (1964-66). Indira Gandhi also continued with her as a Cabinet Minister (1966-67),” she said in another tweet.

The BJP leader said that during Indira Gandhi’s tenure as the Prime Minister from 1967-71, 1971-1977 and again during 1980-84, not a single woman was appointed as a Cabinet Minister.

She said Rajiv Gandhi’s Cabinet (1984-89) had only one woman (Mohsina Kidwai) as a Cabinet Minister.

Women ministers in the Modi government hold some of the most challenging portfolios. While Sushma Swaraj is the minister for External Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman is the Defence Minister and the duo are part of the Cabinet Committee on Security which is considered the top decision-making body on national security.

The other women in the ministry are: Maneka Gandhi who is the Minister on Women and Child Development, Harsimrat Kaur Badal holds the Food Processing Industries portfolio, Smriti Irani is the Minister of Textiles while Uma Bharti is the Minister of Water and Sanitation.